15 September 2009
Thirty-eight Army officer cadets travelled to a dense Samoan jungle recently for Exercise Kepimpinan, their first close country exercise in a tropical environment and under constant observation. It was, writes Officer Cadet Joshua Saua, a testing but very enlightening experience.
On 31 July 09 the Corp of Officer Cadets New Zealand (OCS (NZ)) deployed on Exercise Kepimpinan (Ex. K.P.). Translated into English, Kepimpinan means leader, or leadership in Malaysian. Ex K.P. comprised mainly close country jungle tactics techniques and procedures and platoon level Immediate Action drills, as well as section and platoon level command assessments.
This was our first close country exercise, with the added pressures of being in an overseas tropical environment as well as being assessed and observed 24 hours a day. This made the exercise a testing one for the 38 Officer Cadets, not to mention the media attention with One News tagging along for the ride.
Flying through the blue cloudless sky, we looked down with mixed thoughts as they descended from heights of 30,000 feet seeing the prominent coastline and coral reef through crystal clear water. A New Zealand Royal Air Force Boeing 737 touched on the tarmac and came to a halt. Greeted by temperatures of over 30°C we knew we had arrived at Faleolo Airport, Samoa.
Much to our surprise and relief, the RNZAF had erected most of the forward operating base already, having already arrived with the Navy on the HMNZS Canterbury. The Army component was known as Ex. K.P, however, the Joint Forces exercise was known as Exercise Tropic Astra. It was the first time the Corps of Officer Cadets had worked with the Air Force on an exercise of this scale; it was also the first deployment of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) to Samoa. As the officer cadets settled into their accommodation, morale lifted to amazing heights after being shown around the forward operating base. Aside from the village of accommodation tents, the forward operating base consisted of one internet tent, separate male and female showering tents and a mess hall tent with an outdoor set up.
The cadets spent the first four days acclimatising and having practical lessons both in the base camp and in the jungle immediately south of base camp. D-day soon came around and we deployed via Unimogs and Helo. Ending up on a lava dump on the south coast, the 38 future leaders of the New Zealand Army began rotating through the platoon commander’s role for assessment.
An intense 11 days was spent defending, attacking and ambushing the ever-evading “Yui’tumese” fictional enemy, known as the Kamarian Action Group. A variety of tasks were undertaken by the respective platoons to try and destroy this Samoan variant of the Musorians. Ambushes, aggressive patrols, quick and deliberate assaults as well stealthy reconnaissance gave us the upper hand in our never-ending struggle with these insurgents. The morale boosting words of “Aunty Huia” discretely made its way via radio to the officer cadets and after a decent two weeks of intense time in the jungle it was time to scrub up and prepare for the trip home.
Before going home, a couple of days of rest and relaxation were on the cards…amazing! The cadets were fortunate to be able to explore other aspects of Samoa, including the lavish resorts and a cocktail-in-a-coconut or two! One such experience was the Siva Afi cultural night, which translates as “Fire Dance”. True to its translation, the team was entertained by a night of Pacific Island traditional dances from multiple cultures, both on fire and not on fire!
Post exercise administration came around soon enough, and it was time to swap the jandals, shorts and singlet for the field dress and load up the Boeing. It was an experience which will be discussed in the Mess for many years to come, however the 38 jaded cadets were ready to go home. Currently the officer cadets are preparing for the next exercise, Exercise Santici revolving around urban operations. Graduation is less than three months away, and we are determined to see the year out.
A Break from the Heat—Tree Planting
Officer cadets planted over 300 native trees after spending ten gruelling days training in tropical conditions in the Samoan forests. The tree plantings, in the O Le Pupu Pu’e National Park, were part of the tree regeneration programme undertaken by Samoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.